TRAUMA
- The shoulder is a very shallow joint that is very mobile by nature. The advantages that it has in mobility translate to a very large lack of stability. Consequently, the shoulder is at high risk for traumatic injury. Additionally, there is a vast bundle of nerves called the brachial plexus coming off the cervical spine, traveling through the shoulder, into the arm and hand innervating all of the muscles that control our upper extremities. These nerves travel in very close proximity to the shoulder joint where many of the injuries occur. This can result in damage to these nerves and in effect the function of the arm. The mechanism of injury is the resulting traction and over-stretching of the nerves over the head of the humerus as it moves out of the glenoid fossa.
- Hemorrhaging from any traumatic injury in the shoulder area can put compression on the joint structures including the neural tissues. Consequently, nerve compression can result in damage to the neural tissues below where the compression is occurring.